Synergy. Cooperation. Sharing. Growth. These are a few of the values I’ve always held close in my Yixue 易學 work, training, and study. Much of what I do happens in solitude: quietly sitting with my nose in books, writing, translating, and researching a wide range of topics that I find meaningful and worth exploring.
To some extent, that’s exactly how I like it. There are endless rabbit holes to fall into when you investigate a Chinese character, unpack a principle from Wenwang Gua 文王卦, or sit with an enigmatic line from the Zhouyi 周易. But sooner or later, research wants to become something more than research. At a certain point, you want to bring insights out of their sources and beyond the theory that gave birth to them. Sharing discoveries with like-minded spirits is far more rewarding than keeping them to yourself — and, in my experience, whatever I study needs to be used, expanded, and tested by people who recognize its practical value.
In Johannes Bloemsma I’ve found exactly that kindred spirit.
Many users of the Yijing struggle with the text of the